lawrence_angwin wrote:
Pros
Browne's composure on debut
Russell! Genuinely excited me, if only he hadn't flowered up all those goalscoring opportunities (imagine what we'd be saying if he'd kicked 3)
Bentick - filled Hadley's shoes brilliantly I thought, best game I have seen him play in a long time (seemed to actually extract, rather than just be continuously tackled after getting first use)
Cons
Not sure whether to list Fev - sulked a bit, but if this is rock bottom is it an improvement?
Hartlett's hammy
Carrazzo's disposal
Pfft Jordan Russell!? Yes, imagine if he could kick a goal! I wonder what the Blueseum stats are on his kicking for goal?? He is the only weak link in our team, and his pathetic set shot in the 3rd quarter went a long way to us losing momentum, and eventually the match!
Why does Ratten keep playing him!?? Eventually you need to show the way and do your bit in the footy team, this guy makes up the numbers all in the hope that 1 day he will develop into a player! Against Collingwood is another game i remember him missing an easy shot on goal when we needed it..
Don't kid yourself, he's an extremely average footballer! He's played nearly 40 games for us now, and i've never seen him do anything even remotely special! flower moron!!
.................DROP HIM, AND TEACH HIM TO KICK! I did see a scerrick of potential there, but that kicking for goal is 10yo stuff and worthy of omission.....
PROS:
Defence.. I thought our defence held up very well today.. We were under seige all the way through the last quarter but some of our guys like
Bower and
Jamison are really coming on and developing, especially since the Collingwood game. Really starting to believe in themselves.
Waite: Ditto.. His good outweighs the Bad. Quality player.
Carrazzo: Very solid game, i have a lot of respect for this guy. Still not the best kick in our club, but not the worst we have and although his misfires on occasions, you can really tell over the last couple of years he's worked very hard on his kicking.
Kreuzer! He's a special kid! More than holding his own in the ruck, is mobile and athletic.. and is only 18! We look better for having him as option in our team! Has a very bright future..
Cloke: Gee, i love the way he goes about his footy! A real workhorse this guy, gets the best out of himself.. Very handy player to have in the side. Always gives a contest.
Betts: Ok, he wasnt brilliant all day but has improved from last year. And has that X-Factor you love in a player! Good skills, chases well and can kick a lovely goal. Still just 21 and i do think he will continue to improve.
Murphy and
Simpson both had good games also..
Browne shows a bit.
CONS: We lost! Crows were a bit too smart for us today.. Not a champion team but very well drilled, experienced and well coached. Both teams played a similar game style today, the crows played it better than us.
Our A Graders:
Fevola and
Chris Judd were well held by their opponents today! Both if playing up to their usual standards, we would have been at least a 5 goal better team today. Judd tried very hard, unfortunately just had 1 of those days.. Was never given an inch. Positive for me is i didnt see Fev crack it today, tried hard but soundly beaten.
Jordan Russell: See above.
Umpires: Very rarely i make excuses about the umps, but they were very ordinary, particularly in the 2nd half.
2nd half: Pretty disappointing but i do think we were just outplayed in the end.. A few of our players, in particular our 2 main stars were no where near as influential as they usually would be but will certainly bounce back from that.
Overall, i wasn't too dissapointed with our effort as a team. Adelaide played a very disciplined, hard brand of footy and i think we gave it a good contest. Dissapointed we lost, but all the signs are there and we lost because they were just a little too good and shut us down well.
Were a young side and will learn a lot from that. The crows will be a good finals side this year.. 3rd quater was a bit of a letdown but the crows were very good. The signs are there for the blues though, IMO.